Fun Fact: The night after King of the Ring, Jerry Lawler (representing the Kat) and Dean Malenko (representing Terri) faced off in a match with an interesting stipulation: the loser’s valet had to strip after the match. Well, Malenko lost, and just as Terri was removing her top, Steven Richards popped out from behind the curtain and covered her up with a big white sign featuring a red circle with a line through it. Everyone was confused, but just kind of forgot about it until the following few weeks, when Steven made his intentions clear. He was sick and tired of the immorality and filth that inhabited the WWF and had decided to form a group known as Right to Censor to clean everything up. He immediately hired Bull Buchanan to join his stable, with a shocking 3rd member to join soon after. After losing to Bull Buchanan on that week’s Raw, on the 7/27 Smackdown, the Godfather officially changed his look, attitude and name to the Goodfather. He swore off hoes and all things sex and promised to bring morality and righteousness to the WWF, alongside the Koresh-like Steven Richards. Then, on the 8/7 Raw, the newly christened Goodfather unleashed one of the sickest Powerbombs in wrestling history when he crushed one of his former hoes (the future Victoria) with a nasty Powerbomb through a table that literally folded Victoria in half. Just a sick bump that got the RTC even more heel heat than they already had been generating. The RTC was for real, and over the coming weeks would add a couple of more key members to their hated ranks.

Scott: A new storyline/faction makes its debut here with an opening match win. With all the success Vince McMahon had in 2000, one group that was really getting on his nerves was the Parents Television Council. They were a group of bible-thumpers who were monitoring television for sex, violence and other things “dirty”. Well, Vinnie Mac and the WWF were always popular targets. They really couldn’t do anything about RAW since it was on cable, but Smackdown was a different story. Network TV was their domain, so the PTC was coaxing advertisers to leave Smackdown. Many did, but they came back. In the end Brent Bozell, the head of the PTC, apologized to the WWF for unfairly targeting them, and paid them a settlement for lost revenue. So, how does Vince McMahon handle this? He makes fun of them. A new group, Right to Censor, started the night after KOTR. This is their PPV debut, with Steven Richards, the leader, Goodfather, and Bull Buchanan defeating the hip hop heroes of 2000. Godfather, with his character getting stale, turns heel and joins. Buchanan ditches Boss Man, and moves on to another gimmick. These guys would last for quite a while, and win a number of PPV matches. Grade: 2.5

Justin: A pretty solid 6-man match-up to kick off the 13th annual Summerslam. The hot new heels on the block, the RTC, pick up a big win in their first PPV encounter, when their cult like leader, Richards, plants a nasty Superkick on Scotty. Rikishi is still quite over with the crowd, but the pops are waning a little bit, as his dance routine and stinkface were starting to get a little stale. The finish does deflate the crowd a bit, but the RTC needed the win to establish some credibility for later on, as their push would only grow bigger. The loss doesn’t really hurt anyone, as Scotty lies down, and by this point that doesn’t mean too much, as Too Cool was over because of their gimmick, not the fact they win matches all the time. It is nice to Steven Richards finally being used in a good gimmick for the first time since his arrival in mid-1999, and he sure would make the most of it. Grade: 2.5

Fun Fact: In between playing lackey for Triple H, Road Dogg and X-Pac decided to start up a little friendly competition, as they tried to out-do each other on all WWF programming. This led to both of them getting Stinkfaces while the other laughed, as well as Road Dogg getting accidentally put through a table by X-Pac after they lost a tag title match. To take advantage of this one-ups-man-ship, Commissioner Foley set up a match between the two at the PPV.

Scott: This was the swan song for one of the greatest factions in WWF history. With Triple H on his own, and Billy Gunn injured, these two were pretty much twisting in the wind. So, they decided to mess with each other. Almost like brotherly competition. Every show they would try to “one-up” each other in various ways. Now, they meet one-on-one. Not a bad little match, but X-Pac says screw the sportsmanship and he low-blows Doggie Dogg, and X-Factors him for the win. Road Dogg punks him out afterwards, but it doesn’t matter. The DX signs, and innuendos slowly fade, and the Neon Green is finished for good. Oh, what a ride it’s been. Grade: 2.5

Justin: Nothing too exciting here, as the remaining members of D-X face off for friendly bragging rights. Shortly after this show, both men would go their separate ways for a while, until Road Dogg was let go in December, but more on that later. The match is pretty pedestrian, but picks up a bit at the end when X-Pac cheats to win the match, pissing off the Dogg. D-X was formed in 1997 by Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and even after Michaels retired and Triple H reformed the group, they pretty much dominated the wrestling world for all of 1998, and then parts of 1999, but the once powerful group goes out with a whimper in a match between two guys who weren’t even included in the original incarnation of the revolutionary group. Suck it, indeed. Grade: 2

Scott: 2000 was the year of the Intercontinental Gimmick match. Almost every IC title match this year was more than just one-on-one. Here Val came in as champ, but in the match either Eddie or Chyna could become champion. Chyna was fine in this role in late 1999, when the mid-card was full of mostly flunkies. In 2000, she has no business being near that belt, as there were a lot more deserving people now for it. Val was trying his best to get over as a heel again, particularly with Trish Stratus by his side. She was still very green in the ring, but as time would progress she would get better in the ring. Chyna gets the win, which makes my point earlier ring even louder. She had no need to win this match, but she would only be a pawn in “Latino Heat’s” bigger game. Grade: 2.5

Justin: An interesting idea here where one really wasn’t needed. A straight up Eddie vs. Val match with Eddie going over would have been pretty sweet, but instead we get this mixed tag match stemming from numerous attacks over the past few weeks. Trish is slowly learning, but still has a ways to go. Chyna is still red hot as a face, but it was getting sickening seeing her continuing to go over the men, when it was clear that the current group of male wrestlers should have easily outclassed her in the ring. Val was in the midst of a pretty solid push, but that pretty much ends quickly after this loss, as he sort of falls into the background for a couple months, before taking an interesting turn. Eddie is biding his time, but big things were in the plans for him in the upcoming weeks, including a return to his old ways. The match here is decent, but kind of sloppy, as you would expect. Chyna going over is more annoying than anything, but her final I-C reign would be short lived. Grade: 2

4) Jerry Lawler defeats Tazz (Peter Senerca) after Jim Ross hits Tazz in the head with a candy jar at 4:24

Fun Fact: There was some entertaining back story to this match, as Tazz began openly mocking JR’s past medical problems and current state of his partially paralyzed face. At one point he even hobbled down to the commentary table with sunglasses, a cowboy hat and a cane and pretended to be blind. On the 8/17 Smackdown, Lawler was ripping on Tazz and telling him to be ready for the PPV, when Tazz popped out of the crowd and locked the Tazmission on Lawler, causing him to pass out. Then, on the 8/24 Smackdown, this happened (Courtesy the wonderful CRZ): When we come back, Tazz is tagging the car with a "13." "You see...being from New York, I'm used to spraying stuff. Hey Lawler, does this car look familiar?" Lawler now recognizes it as his rental. "Maybe you oughta get in the ring and get a closer look. It's your rent-a-car? Is that what you said? Everything's funny, right King? Everything's a joke to the funny man!" Lawler says tagging his rental will upset Hertz, not him. "Well, I'll tell you what, Happy. ...let me ask you this. Is this funny?" The camera finally is allowed to pan over to a shot where we can ID the passenger - its GOOD OL' JR. "Who the hell do you think you are?" "Is that funny? Is that funny, Lawler? It's good old JR! Are ya laughin' now, Lawler? Is it a joke now? Get out - I'll split your head open...like a watermelon!" Ross closes the car door and locks it. "You're locking' the door, huh? Let me in this car - open the door! Open the damn door! Oh...you gonna lock yourself in! All right - hey, Lawler! Watch THIS!" And he smashes the window with a pipe. Yikes! Lawler, realizing that Steve Austin isn't here to save Ross now, decides HE'D better run to the back. Backstage, Lawler has caught up to Tony Garea and Jim Ross - Ross is doing the old "glass in the eye" sell job with bright red blood contrasting with his bright white WWF shirt. Tazz then returns and punks out the distracted Lawler from behind as the refs and officials pull a laughing Tazz away.

Scott: This little match stems from Tazz’ heel run he’s been on since his return from injury. Tazz was the plucky orange midget that can’t be knocked down . He tore a triceps muscle, and has come back a crazy heel. He cost Rikishi the Intercontinental Title, and also cost him the rematch at Fully Loaded. Then he starts antagonizing the broadcast team on RAW. Lawler fights for the honor of his partner, and other than the JR candy jar shot that clinches it, the match itself is marginally entertaining. Grade: 2

Justin: A quickie match here that is meant to just continue the feud and build to a big surprise next month at Unforgiven. While somewhat tasteless, Tazz has been pretty funny in his mocking of Jim Ross, and it was nice to see JR get some revenge and defend himself against the bully. Lawler works his usual style match, and it gets the job done for the story they want to tell. Tazz is still mired in the lower mid-card, but he is making the most out of the little opportunity he is being given. Grade: 1.5

5) Steve Blackman defeats Shane McMahon to win WWF Hardcore Title after Blackman drops a 20-foot elbow off the set at 10:08

Fun Fact: On the 8/21 Raw, Commissioner Foley forced Shane McMahon to face Steve Blackman in a Hardcore Title match to punish him a little bit. Well, thanks to interference from Test, Albert, Edge and Christian and the use of a kendo stick, Shane-O Mac wins WWF gold for the second time in his career. Now, in the midst of his celebration, the Commish came in and informed him that he would have to face Steve Blackman in a rematch at Summerslam. Well, upon hearing this, his joy fell to horror and he immediately tried to lie down and let Edge & Christian beat him for the belt under the 24/7 rule. Well, after some debate, and urging from Foley, they both lie on top of Shane to pin him, and after a 2 count, Foley stop and says he hates the 24/7 rule and that he is suspending it until after Summerslam.

Fun Fact II: The real reason for this feud was that Shane and Blackman were good friends behind the scenes and Shane really wanted to get him over big time.

Scott: Shane-O-Mac was one year removed from his big match against Test but now had Test on his side against the Lethal Weapon. After that foolish storyline with Al Snow, Blackman has dominated the Hardcore scene. He has the Hardcore Title for most of the summer, but stumbles when he drops the strap to the junior McMahon. Shane was starting to get a little stale, and was due to be off camera for a while. Even with the interference, Blackman sets up for the sacrifice of the night. Both men climb the scaffolding of the set. Blackman, holding a Kendo stick, whacks Shane. He falls 20 feet through the stage. Then, Blackman follows him with an elbow of his own, casually getting the pin for the win. Solid match, but we’re getting too much Shane. Fortunately his exposure wanes over the coming weeks. Blackman has been a dominant Hardcore champ, and finally finds his niche, without a personality. Grade: 3

Justin: A fun and energetic brawl as is usual with Shane McBump-Machine. Blackman comes away looking pretty good here, as he fights off the requisite interference from T&A and does an insane dive onto Shane to regain the title that he has added legitimacy to over the summer. Blackman and the Hardcore Title was a good pairing, as the division was sort of getting stale, as was Blackman, but when you put him in these weapons matches, he is able to use his martial arts skills to put forth some swank moves and matches. Once again, Shane gets bumped around for our pleasure, but as Scott said, would take some time off soon enough just in time to rest up for his huge program in 2001. An entertaining brawl here and the bump is well worth checking out. Grade: 3

Falls:
Jericho submits to the Crippler Crossface at 3:15
Benoit submits to the Walls of Jericho at 8:25
Benoit pins Jericho with a roll-up at 13:02

Fun Fact: These two men have awesome matches and always antagonize each other, so here they put in the ring to brutalize each other for our perverse enjoyment.

Scott: What more can you say about these two? No two men know each other from head to toe. Both are from Western Canada. Both trained in the Hart Dungeon. Both have won numerous titles. Both chop with the best of them. I can go on and on. This is their 4th PPV match they’ve been in together. Chop, chop till you drop, chop, chop never stop. That’s all I have to say. Damn, they smack the crap out of each other. This match has an interesting taste of psychology that adds to the feud. Chris Benoit had such a passion for his craft. He wins the first fall from Jericho with the Crossface. When the bell rings for fall #2, he just slaps the Crossface on again. The crowd gets to the edge of their feet with the close pinning combos and powerbomb reversals. Finally, after another sterling run of reversals, Benoit hooks the bottom rope on a roll-up and steals another match from Y2J. He’s been here only 8 months, and Chris Benoit has already passed ¾ of the roster for heel intensity. Jericho? Already bulletproof. He’s lost to Benoit 3 times, and the crowd doesn’t care. Just entertain us. Boy, have they. Grade: 4

Justin: Just an ultra-stiff match between two of the best rising stars in the WWF. We all knew Benoit was a stiff in ring machine, but man, has Jericho ever earned his stripes in these wars with the Rabid Wolverine, or what? He takes the shit kicking of a lifetime, and still has enough left in him to dole out punishment himself. The battles these men have between March and January ’01 are just incredible, and it really should have done for them what Rock and Triple H’s matches did for them in 1998: elevate them to that next level and play off their rivalry a couple years later. Of course, they never get the chance, but that is a story for another day. In 8 quick months, Benoit has been established as a seriously threat who no one wants to fuck with. Jericho was game here, but when Benoit is on, he is on and he dismantles Jericho in the closing moments to the delight of the awed crowd. This is an awesome match between two great Canadian stars that is probably the best of the series in 2000. Grade: 4.5

7) Edge & Christian defeat the Hardy Boys and the Dudley Boys in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to retain WWF Tag Team Titles when they each grab a belt at 14:51

Fun Fact: Ok, a lot of the build for this match came on the 8/14 Raw…right here… in…Providence, Rhode Island (cheap pop, thumbs up). During a match between the Hardys and Right to Censor, Edge & Christian came out and brutalized Matt Hardy with a chair, leading to a Christian Unprettier on the chair. Moments later, this occurred (courtesy THE CRZ): EDGE & CHRISTIAN are out again, with two belts...and two chairs. Ross: "They've used those chairs, they got a Ph.D. in....in steel chairs, and I’ll tell ya!" They each stand up the chairs in the ring...and sit down. "Do actions speak louder than words? Well, you just saw our actions - now hear our words. We are out here for one reason only. Due to the unfair treatment that we have received at the hands of the Hardyz, the Dudleyz, and especially Mick Foley, we are TOTALLY out here to stage a sit down strike! I want you to see what we're talking about, roll the footage from Smackdown! Here we are, on our way to another totally successful title retention, when lo and behold, we are brutally attacked by the Hardyz and Dudleyz! And, what does Commissioner Mick Foley do about it? Just like the people from this city do with their lives - ha ha - absolutely nothing! He just sat back, ate some cotton candy and scratched himself while we were handed a bucketful of heinosity!" "And this is why Edge and I took matters into our own hands and did what we did to poor Matthew Hardy. You see, we're not moving from this spot until we're served with a big bowl of justice soup! ...and Mick Foley himself assures us that we have been receiving unfair treatment...and it will end, because if it doesn't end, there will SO be extreme ramiprecussions!" Here comes COMMISSIONER McFOLEY to offer rebuttal. "Hey Edge, Edgester, Christian, I thought we had a relationship! And now you come out here (in Providence, Rhode Island) and hurt me with your hateful words? Well all I can say is after watching not only your heinous acts against Matt Hardy, but Jeff Hardly, the Dudleyz, Kane, Dean Malenko, not to mention what you tried to do to Lita, all I can say is the two of you are SO lacking in testicular fortitude! That being said, I will admit that you two have a point, and sometimes I think you guys are psychic. Because while those acts of heinosity were going on, many times I actually was eating cotton candy and scratching myself! So, I have decided to make a decision right now, and I think you're going to like it. A decision that says at Summerslam, the Hardyz and the Dudleyz CAN NOT interfere with tables and ladders in your match! Yeah! Long distance high five, guys, c'mon - wooo! You see, it's going to be impossible for them to interfere in your match with tables and ladders, because they are going to be IN your match! With tables and ladders. And if I were you two dudes, I'd bring those chairs as well, because it's going to be Summerslam - it's going to be Edge & Christian against the Hardyz against the Dudleyz in a TLC match - Tables and Ladders and Chairs - oh my! Tables and Ladders and Chairs, oh my!" Foley keeps saying "Table and Ladders and Chairs" so the crowd can say "oh my!" Over the following two weeks, the three teams beat on each with table shots and conchairtos, as the build for the big match was officially set.

Scott: The sequel to their Wrestlemania classic is better than advertised. Looking back, and doing these reviews, I never gave 2000 enough credit. Maybe it was my Stone Cold withdrawal. I think that the workrate in 2000 was the best in quite some time. This tag match proved everyone was so passionate for their craft, that they will sacrifice their own bodies for their craft. These 3 teams have spent the better part of the year beating the crap out of each other with any weapon available. This is going back to those late 80s days when Demolition, the Hart Foundation, and the Brainbusters were among the many solid teams clamoring for those straps. The creative ways to beat your opponent down with a chair, table, or in particular a ladder just keep coming. Psychology has also become a part of 2000 feuds. At Wrestlemania Jeff Hardy dropped a Swanton Bomb on Bubba Ray from the tallest ladder. In this match he tries again, but Bubba is on to him and he misses. The other memorable spot is the climax. The last two that haven’t been laid out, Jeff Hardy and D-Von, climb the ladders to the belts, but the ladder falls over. So, both of them are hanging in mid-air holding the belts in a memorable visual. D-Von is knocked off, and the crowd pops, knowing their Hardy Boys will finally be champs. Alas, it wasn’t to be, as the Canadian Connection come in to knock Jeff off, climb the ladders, and retain the titles. The build is growing towards the big blow-off between the Hardys and Edge & Christian. I think you know what this gets. Grade: 5

Justin: I’m not sure what is really left to say here, as these three teams put on another unbelievable match where they just flat out destroy themselves for everyone’s entertainment. Edge & Christian have been on an incredible role as the dominant heel champs, and their interaction with Commissioner Foley are just off the charts funny and were bringing us comedy gems like “2000, vintage year for sodas!” “Soda’s Rule!” It was during this period that Team ECK also started their hilarious skits featuring Christian’s kazoo. Christian first found the kazoo during Kurt Angle’s birthday party. Edge would sing different lyrics to various wrestling themes while Christian played them on the kazoo, belting out such classics as “My Time” (It’s my time, It’s my time!), “You Think You Know Me” (You think you know me, you think you know me), “Theme from Kurt Angle” (Angle! Angle! Angle!), and their combo-song with Foley: “Theme from Chris Benoit” (Chris Benoit is here and he’s really mad, Chris Benoit is here and he’s really an-gry! Here it is in full, the Chris Benoit song; (cue Foley) Is there any wrestler who can prove him wrong? ). Making all of this even better, was that Triple H was present during the birthday party and flips out on them while they play Kurt’s music, so they offer to play his so he won’t be mad and after one verse he freaks and tosses them out. It was just classic, classic stuff that was all leading to build of this show. While E&C were rolling along, the Dudleys and Hardys were busy splitting votes for the most popular face team. The Hardys were winning fans over with the daredevil moves and high impact matches while the Dudleys were gaining cheers through their table usage and catch phrases. These three teams were headed on a collision course and were bringing importance and meaning back to tag team wrestling for the first time in many years. I’m not going to say anything about the match, really, because a) Scott said it all and you really need to see it to understand how great it is, so go watch it. Grade: 5

8) The Kat (Stacy Carter) defeats Terri (Runnels) in a “Stinkface” match when she lays the stinkface down at 3:06

Scott: Well, I guess no shows have all 5-star matches. Since we just had two absolute gems in a row, I guess we needed a couple of dogs. This one was expected, as we have two women with zero ability bouncing around with a thong on. I would much rather have added these 3 minutes to either of the previous two matches. Grade: 1

Justin: Just a quickie T&A fest to spell the crowd after the insanity they just witnessed. Not sure why they didn’t stick this between the 2/3 falls and the TLC, but it doesn’t really matter in the long run. Kat picks up the win, as if it means anything at this point. Grade: .5

9) Kane (Glen Jacobs) and the Undertaker (Mark Callaway) wrestle to a no-contest at 6:28

Fun Fact: On the 8/14 Raw, Kane officially turned heel on his brother to fill in for the demoted Big Show. He came out after Undertaker had taken on Chris Benoit and chokeslammed his brother twice, with the second one putting Taker through the ring. He then added insult to injury by riding off on his motorcycle. A week later, Kane again laid out his brother and drew blood with a chair shot.

Scott: There’s a bizarre backstory on this that involves someone who needed punishing. This originally was supposed to be Undertaker vs. Big Show. Show was having an up and down year. He’s part of a great storyline with the Rock, main events Wrestlemania, becomes a comedic, yet entertaining act, and now is ready to feud with his former mentor from 1999, the Deadman. However, backstage Show was on the shit list. He was gaining weight at an alarming pace, and his attitude was becoming a problem. So, instead of putting him in the Undertaker feud he was planned for, job him out, then demote him, they just demote him. Kane is then hastily turned heel so he could job to the Undertaker here. It made no sense, and besides both guys suck right now anyway. Kane is stale, and Taker looks like he spent his time off downing nachos at the local pub. It really gets bad by 2001, but it starts here. Taker for some reason goes after Kane’s mask, and eventually gets it off. Kane walks off, and the match is over. Huh? I have no clue what the deal was here, but it was annoying, and bad to watch. Grade: 1.5

Justin: This was a bizarre match, if you can even call it that. The two men brawl for six minutes and the battle ends when Taker finally tears Kane’s mask off and he scampers to the back. The heel turn doesn’t really help Kane gain any momentum as it just came out of nowhere and really made no sense. They should have had Show just job quick to Taker here and then head down to OVW to slim down. Taker was pretty over here, but was also in the worse shape of his career and it shows in the ring as he and Kane just smack each other around without doing much of anything else. Since his return, Taker has sputtered, despite being quite over with the fans. JR gets into this match quite a bit and puts over both guys big time, which was pretty much the best part of the whole mess. Not much else to say here, other than the fact that we get the first glimpse of Kane’s face since his debut in 1997. Grade: 1

10) The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) defeats Triple H (Paul Levesque) and Kurt Angle in a “triple threat” match to retain WWF World Title when he pins Triple H with the People’s Elbow at 20:09

Fun Fact: On the August 3 edition of Smackdown, Triple H and his wife, along with Kurt Angle, were booked in a six person tag match by Commissioner Foley, against the Lita and the Dudley Boys. Hunter, Steph and Angle ended up picking up the win, but after the match, as Triple H left the ring, Angle and McMahon hugged in a victory celebration, which annoyed the Game and marked the beginning of a feud that had been simmering for a while. On the August 7 edition of Raw, Angle and Triple H were booked in match with Chris Jericho to determine the number one contender for a WWF Title match against the Rock at Summerslam. Both Angle and Triple H pinned Jericho, which made both them both co-number one contenders. That week on Smackdown, the match was made official for Summerslam by Foley. The following week on RAW, Angle, Triple H, and Shane were booked in a six-man match against the Dudley Boys and Rock, with the stipulation that if Angle or Triple H walked away from the match, they would lose their title shot. During the match, Edge and Christian interfered by attacking the Dudleys, which resulted in Angle, Triple H, and McMahon winning the match. The week before this show, Stephanie defended her Women’s title against Lita in a pretty hot match. In the closing moments, Rock came out and took out Stephanie, giving Lita the big win and the title to a huge pop. Later in the week on Smackdown, Kurt and Stephanie teamed up against the Rock and Lita. During the match, Steph got taken out which drew out her husband. Triple H and Kurt would bicker a bit about who would aid Steph. A slew of EMTs finally came out and ushered Steph backstage and Hunter and Kurt continued to brawl with Rock, and eventually the Hardys. Angle would be tossed from the ring and headed backstage as Hunter got laid out by the Rock. Then, the moment we had been waiting for since the flirting between Steph and Kurt started at the end of 1999 finally went down, courtesy the fantastic CRZ: Backstage, Angle catches up with Stephanie and sends away the EMTs. "Stephanie, you all right? Are you all right? I am so sorry, Steph, I didn't mean to do it, I SWEAR I didn't mean to do it. I really care about you, Steph. You don't realise how much I care...I am so sorry, I am so sorry, Steph. I really care about you Steph...I really care." Angle's hug - WHOA! - suddenly turns into a full-on pass and liplock...Stephanie fights it at first...then kinda gets into it. Angle backs away with a HUGE grin on his face as the credits come up...and Stephanie's face is more along the "what have I done?" lines. Whoops, that's all you get. We're faded to black.

Scott: Another battle between the People’s Champ and The Game, but with a twist. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley had always been smitten with Kurt Angle since his debut. She even came out to help him in one of his KOTR matches against Chris Jericho. That led to the Fully Loaded match with Jericho and Triple H. Angle had been making impromptu advances to Mrs. McMahon/Helmsley, and on the Smackdown before this show, while she was semi-unconscious, Angle kisses her. I remember watching that whole montage 24453 times before the show. Now, throw the Rock and the world title into the mix, and we have a main event. The match is going along smoothly, but then a wrench is thrown into the mix. Trips is about to Pedigree Angle on the Spanish announce table, but the table gives way before the move is executed, and Angle whacks his head on the ground. He’s practically knocked out cold. Stephanie comes out to see how he is, and then trainers come to take him back. Seeing now that this was not planned, Triple H and Rock do what they do best: Beat the snot out of each other. It was great improvising by both of them to keep the match going without losing any flow. Eventually Angle returns with Steph, but the real linchpin of the storyline starts. Stephanie gives the sledgehammer to her hubby, but he goes for a charge and whacks her instead. Angle carries her off as Trips is pinned by the champ. Rock in some cases seems forgotten in this whole mess, but he is the champ. Angle smirks down the ramp at Triple H as the show goes to black. Good job by Triple H and Rock to wing it when Angle was knocked silly. Grade: 3.5

Justin: Well, after all the teasing and build up, we finally got the payoff as Kurt planted a big kiss on Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley on the final show before Summerslam. This was the best romance angle the WWF had done since the Savage/Elizabeth stuff back in the day. The female demographic had grown and the writers had a really interesting storyline love triangle going on. The eventual payoff seemed obvious here, but we will soon see that it ended up being botched and would signal the beginning of the slow decline in storytelling the WWF would eventually experience. For now, though, the crowd was into it big time and the heat was at a fever pitch. Angle comes out first and Hunter charges out second and the two would brawl by themselves for a bit. Scott mentioned the Pedigree spot, which knocked Kurt loopy. Hunter decides to go for the kill and grabs the sledgehammer. Before he can put Kurt out for good, Rock came out and joined the fun. At one point, EMTs tried to get Kurt to the back, but Hunter would thwart them. Angle would finally be taken backstage and Rock and Hunter would battle for a while and had the crowd in the palms of their hands the whole way through. Steph would come out for a bit, but after inadvertently taking her husband out, she heads backstage as well. It was there that she woke Kurt up and dragged him back to the ring to help out her husband. Rock eventually drops the Elbow on Steph and Kurt helps her backstage and smirks as Hunter eats the pin. The match was some great storytelling and the crowd was rocking right through and were toyed around by some tremendous near falls. Rock picks up another solid title defense for his resume and the Hunter/Angle feud continues to simmer on for another month. Grade: 3.5

Final Analysis:

Scott: The run of great shows continues, as this one was pretty good top to bottom. Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit put on another exhibition, and the first ever “TLC” match delivered by legendary proportions. There were a couple of dogs in there, but they were placed well to spell the crowd between the two mid-card gems and the main event. Unfortunately the run of awesome shows ends next month as we get to the usual fall doldrums. Steve Austin is slated to come back soon, and things start re-shaping for the future. Three men: Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle. All three of them have grown month-by-month to the WWF style, and it has worked to perfection. Triple H and Rock have had MOTY candidates on multiple occasions, and this one was no different. On top of the fact that they delivered in the main event again, they had to wing it when Angle got hurt, and it didn’t matter. It still flowed. Third straight year we get a solid Summerslam. Grade: A-

Justin: Well, we got another great 2000 PPV and another rock solid Summerslam. The show started off a bit shaky, with some mediocre mid card matches, but the show finished with a flurry and kept the crowd rocking until the show faded out. The commentary was pretty good here as JR was peaking big time and putting everything over huge, especially the main event. The show could have been a bit better if the IC Title match had been a straight up Venis/Guerrero battle, but the crowd was still digging Chyna, so I guess it worked out. The RTC and Steve Blackman picked up impressive wins, and Blackman’s dive would be replayed in video packages for years. Benoit and Jericho tore each other up once again and they continue to anchor the mid-card and both have become bulletproof workhorses. The TLC match was another great train wreck match and the tag division continues to deliver the goods in and out of the ring. The main event angle was really good and the heat was so overwhelming, it is hard to believe how badly it would be botched just one month later. Rock is finally getting his lengthy Title run and is carrying the WWF through the summer months and into the fall. Things are still good for Vince and Co. as WCW was falling apart by the day and the WWF had never been more popular. Everywhere you looked; there was a wrestling special featuring WWF stars. They were all over MTV and other media outlets and the crowds and ratings were at record highs. The PPVs in 2000 have been stellar, and Summerslam more than kept up the trend. Final Grade: A-